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Here's some pictures as usual. I have a bunch of step-by-step pictures of the timing chain install which I'll add later. There's some other steps I'll go over too in terms of rebuilding the VVTI cam cover which has some important teflon gap rings and sneaky small o-ring seals that are easily missed that should be replaced but the manual never mentions the steps involved. I'm quickly pushing thru this build but I'll go back and review the pictures and get those uploaded with some annotations.
The exhaust manifold shown here is the old crusty one, ignore that. It wasn't cracked or anything but high mileage iron castings I usually just throw out or replace. The new exhaust manifold is coming in and it'll get nicely ported and Cerakote ceramic coated. The turbo is going back out for high speed VSR spin balancing so that'll take some time. The fuel rail is still waiting to be vapor hone glass beaded to remove some cosmetic surface oxidation but it should look brand new when it's done, that's saving me over $150. New fuel injectors, fuel insulation brackets, & fuel rail sound insulation are on order from Nissan. Every nut, bolt, clip, & gasket is getting replaced. Fuel rail pressure sensor & gasket are also getting replaced. There is some expensive fuel component bracket that I'm just going to glass bead & paint a nice coat of gloss black to prevent it from corroding in the future, not paying $57 for a metal bracket.
The pictures below still lacks the: intake manifold (existing), throttlebody (existing), fuel rail, fuel injectors, valve cover (reusing existing), new pulley, new alternator, new accessory belt & tensioner, new exhaust manifold, new turbo (already purchased from before), new a/c compressor, new starter, hoses, heat shields, new engine harness, new engine sensors, & new motor mounts, plus minor stuff. All that stuff is getting ordered over the next 2 months to spread out the cost.
In terms of overall project cost to get the engine to this point over the last +3 years it was about $12,000 including: machining, engine tooling, new OEM parts, upgraded internal engine parts, aftermarket turbo, etc. Keep in mind I'm basically re-using my original: engine block, cylinder head, camshafts (reground), crankshaft, lower girdle/oil sump upper case, front timing cover(s), plastic valve cover, water outlet housing, water pump housing/alternator mounting, fuel rail, etc. Everything else was replaced with new updated OEM factory parts. Had I bought a new long block from Nissan ($5,000) the price difference after doing all the custom engine upgrades & machining probably would probably have been cheaper and the huge amount of parts ordering and shipping costs would have been mostly eliminated. Learned a few tricks on restoring parts so for me was worth it. Shops like AMS or high end shops will just offer you a brand new long block with the engine internals upgraded because of what I just described as time & cost are so much more efficient. Plus a performance build you almost need everything brand new/upgraded anyway for reliability which is pretty much the conclusion I came to at some point during this build. So an engine build can be done on the cheap or really expensive and it just depends on the goals in mind.
The above price also doesn't include any bolt-on upgrade parts either. For the CVT transmission build it was about $4,500 since I bought a lot of extra parts I didn't actually install. By the time I'm done with replacing the suspension components to just get the vehicle driveable that is another $2,000-$2,500. Anything beyond that isn't part of this build and I'm not even thinking about it right now.
I'm debating about rebuilding/restoring the AWD transfer case since it's kinda nasty. I figured about $500 to replace all the bearings, seals, repaint the output shaft, glass bead the case, new bolts, etc. Probably will do it if I can bang it out in a week. Never going to be easier to do it with the engine & trans already out of the car.
There's still quite a bit to do before I put the engine on the hoist. Keep in mind I'm taking my sweet now as there is no rush so this gives me some time to review & think if I missed something. I'm figuring about 12-15 hours of easy labor fitting the manifold, turbo, oil/coolant lines and all the remaining stuff that isn't too challenging to do so why bother rushing. The goal is to just drop the motor in and connect the: coolant, fuel, A/C lines, electrical, & motor mounts and not have to mess with anything inside the engine bay once it's in place. I still have some engine bay cleanup and some light paint touchup but it should look respectable once the motor mounts are secured.
The exhaust manifold shown here is the old crusty one, ignore that. It wasn't cracked or anything but high mileage iron castings I usually just throw out or replace. The new exhaust manifold is coming in and it'll get nicely ported and Cerakote ceramic coated. The turbo is going back out for high speed VSR spin balancing so that'll take some time. The fuel rail is still waiting to be vapor hone glass beaded to remove some cosmetic surface oxidation but it should look brand new when it's done, that's saving me over $150. New fuel injectors, fuel insulation brackets, & fuel rail sound insulation are on order from Nissan. Every nut, bolt, clip, & gasket is getting replaced. Fuel rail pressure sensor & gasket are also getting replaced. There is some expensive fuel component bracket that I'm just going to glass bead & paint a nice coat of gloss black to prevent it from corroding in the future, not paying $57 for a metal bracket.
The pictures below still lacks the: intake manifold (existing), throttlebody (existing), fuel rail, fuel injectors, valve cover (reusing existing), new pulley, new alternator, new accessory belt & tensioner, new exhaust manifold, new turbo (already purchased from before), new a/c compressor, new starter, hoses, heat shields, new engine harness, new engine sensors, & new motor mounts, plus minor stuff. All that stuff is getting ordered over the next 2 months to spread out the cost.
In terms of overall project cost to get the engine to this point over the last +3 years it was about $12,000 including: machining, engine tooling, new OEM parts, upgraded internal engine parts, aftermarket turbo, etc. Keep in mind I'm basically re-using my original: engine block, cylinder head, camshafts (reground), crankshaft, lower girdle/oil sump upper case, front timing cover(s), plastic valve cover, water outlet housing, water pump housing/alternator mounting, fuel rail, etc. Everything else was replaced with new updated OEM factory parts. Had I bought a new long block from Nissan ($5,000) the price difference after doing all the custom engine upgrades & machining probably would probably have been cheaper and the huge amount of parts ordering and shipping costs would have been mostly eliminated. Learned a few tricks on restoring parts so for me was worth it. Shops like AMS or high end shops will just offer you a brand new long block with the engine internals upgraded because of what I just described as time & cost are so much more efficient. Plus a performance build you almost need everything brand new/upgraded anyway for reliability which is pretty much the conclusion I came to at some point during this build. So an engine build can be done on the cheap or really expensive and it just depends on the goals in mind.
The above price also doesn't include any bolt-on upgrade parts either. For the CVT transmission build it was about $4,500 since I bought a lot of extra parts I didn't actually install. By the time I'm done with replacing the suspension components to just get the vehicle driveable that is another $2,000-$2,500. Anything beyond that isn't part of this build and I'm not even thinking about it right now.
I'm debating about rebuilding/restoring the AWD transfer case since it's kinda nasty. I figured about $500 to replace all the bearings, seals, repaint the output shaft, glass bead the case, new bolts, etc. Probably will do it if I can bang it out in a week. Never going to be easier to do it with the engine & trans already out of the car.
There's still quite a bit to do before I put the engine on the hoist. Keep in mind I'm taking my sweet now as there is no rush so this gives me some time to review & think if I missed something. I'm figuring about 12-15 hours of easy labor fitting the manifold, turbo, oil/coolant lines and all the remaining stuff that isn't too challenging to do so why bother rushing. The goal is to just drop the motor in and connect the: coolant, fuel, A/C lines, electrical, & motor mounts and not have to mess with anything inside the engine bay once it's in place. I still have some engine bay cleanup and some light paint touchup but it should look respectable once the motor mounts are secured.